Candice was a stay-at-home mother, who was working her best for the house, and to their son, Sam. But recently, Robert noticed that Sam, who was filled with maternal love, was not avoiding his mother, Candice. Whenever Candice would try to kiss or hug to Sam, he would ran away from her.
“Mom has changed. She has a secret and doesn’t want to share it with me,” little boy said.
“When you are at work, she often cries in her room. When I walked in there and asked her why she was crying, she screamed at me and told me to go. She was holding a photo, but as soon as I walked in, she put it into the green box and hid it under the mattress,” Sam said.
“This week she’s been crying almost daily. She thinks I don’t pay attention, but I still hear her and see her swollen eyes. But now she locks the door to her room and when I come to the door and ask her what’s the matter, she acts as if nothing has happened. I don’t like it, Daddy. You need to do something about it,” Sam said.
“Don’t worry, son. Your mom probably has a reason for it. I’ll talk to her,” Robert tried to reassure Sam, but he was worried for his wife, Candice. What was she hiding from them?
One day, as Robert was suspicious, he decided to go and search the bedroom for the green box. He found it under the mattress, and there was jewelry and a photograph inside.
In the picture, there was a handsome man, who was happy in the family picture. Robert didn’t knew who he was, but he was similar to Candice. Robert was devastated, as he thought that his wife had a secret lover.
That night, he confronted Candice about the picture, and his thoughts.
“Candice, do you have a secret lover?”
“What? Rob, what are you talking about?” Candice was hurt.
“I found this photo,” Robert said, and showed the picture. “Who is he?”
“Oh no… I didn’t want anybody to know about this,” Candice said as she started to cry.
“So, you confess that you were cheating on me?” Robert said.
“No! No, I didn’t cheat. Okay, I will tell you the full story, but please do not tell anybody about it,” Candice said.
“Before my grandma died, she gave me this picture. She said I should decide what to do with it,” sge started. “My grandma said I should decide what to do with it on my own.”
“She revealed that my mother cheated on my dad with her lover. When she gave birth, there were twins: me and my brother. Her lover wanted to be a father, but she loved my dad and wanted to stay with him.”
“Because of this, my mom and her lover secretly agreed to each take one child and raise them in different families. My mom told my dad that I was his, and he had no reason to doubt her.” Candice said in her trembling voice.
“But before he died of cancer, my mom’s lover came to my grandma and showed her a photo of the grandson she didn’t know about.”
“You see, my mom and dad have been together for over 35 years. It would devastate him if he found out about my mom’s betrayal.”
“But at the same time, I have a brother and I want to know him.”
“I don’t know what to do, because if I reach out to him, it would eventually hurt my mom and dad,” Candice finished, as she was having trouble to speak with her heavy crying.
“So, is it your twin brother in the picture?” Robert said in a gentle voice.
“Yes,” Candice tried to say, as Robert hugged to her.
“I’m so sorry for doubting your fidelity. But why did you often cry in your room?” Robert asked in wonder.
“I’m crying because I never had the chance to know my biological father. Also, I can’t be in my brother’s life without hurting my mom and my dad,” Candice said.
“But it isn’t your fault. It was your mom who messed up everything. You have a right to know your twin brother, honey.” Robert tried to reassure her.
“I don’t know. It’s not so easy,” she said. As few weeks had passed, Candice was still thinking about talking with her brother and family about the situation.